Abstract

This research examined relationships between parental interpersonal perceptual style (IPS)—the extent to which they are biased in their perceptions of children's behaviors—and (a) the adjustment of their own children and (b) parent-child interactions. In two studies, groups of parents first viewed a videotape of a male or female “target” child interacting with an adult in a playroom and then completed a behavior checklist about the target child that measured their IPS. In Study 1, parents' (especially fathers') IPS was found to be related to interaction between them and their 5-to7-year-old child; for example, the less negatively biased the father was, the more likely the child was to openly display antagonistic behavior toward his or her parents. In Study 2, fathers' (but not mothers') IPS was found to be related to the teacher- and peer-assessed level of psychosocial adjustment of their own third-grade child; fathers of “problem” children tended to be more negatively biased in their perceptions than were fathers of either “adequate” or “highly adjusted” children. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role that person perception processes play in family functioning and child development.

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This article is an adaptation of a paper presented as part of a symposium held during the 1977 meeting of the American Psychological Association. This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant No. 24250, “Adult Perceptions and Child Behavior Dysfunctions.”

We wish to thank Linda Oiacomo and Phyllis Watts for their help. We also wish to thank the numerous students who provided invaluable assistance by collecting, coding, and scoring the data. The cooperation of the administration and staff of the Lansing, Michigan, School District, especially Eva Evans and Richard Benjamin, and the administration and staff of the East Lansing, Michigan, School District, especially Robert Docking and Warren Starr, is also very gratefully acknowledged.

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